You purchase a horse from the stables and ride through the city. A few districts have been severely damaged by fires, while others escaped virtually unscathed. Most lie somewhere in the middle. You reach your family's manor, The Wolf's Den, and see that it has suffered moderate damage. A fire has torched your mother's garden as well as most of the trees. The stables have been burned to the ground, and the main entrance and hall of the house have been heavily damaged.

"Martin!" A young man calls out to you, "It's good to see you made it through that fight." It's your brother Vasilis.

I don't think you ever named your family's estate. If you did, feel free to retcon it in.

Looks good.
-Pygrado claimed the RMA helm, though he's not wearing it around at the moment. If we determine this to have value (5gp perhaps?) we can deduct half from my share.
-Is Leto's (rather large) share all from that last battle?
-I'll be selling the +1 shortsword.
-Also, should we include the 1000gp from Vicenzo in our shopping orders?

Well, I'm willing to do any more work that the King would require of us. I love this city and I'll die for her. But outside that, I'm not a mercenary. I'm an assassin and we work alone.

Aah, the classic end-of-first-adventure moment when you need to explain why the characters stick together. Pygrado will go along and join up, but I feel the need to RP some resistance at first, until someone convinces him otherwise.

Shopping List:

I'll be selling the +1 shortsword. (+1157.5)
I'm going to get a Vanisher Cloak (MIC-145) (-2500) and an Amber Amulet of Vermin (Giant Praying Mantis) (MIC-68) (-700). After receiving the 1000gp bounty, he'll be at about 500. He'll chip in 150 for the wand, and spend the rest on mundane equipment.

Yes, Leto's share is all from that last encounter. If you look at the worth of the items, and then the worth of the 15,000 gp in diamonds found in that encounter it becomes clear why this is the case. As for selling the shortsword, go ahead as you essntially bought it from the party for the sell price making it cost nuetral to sell, although if someone is interested it would be common courtesy to offer it to them at sell price first (maybe gareth?). As for the gold from the king, we havent had our reward ceremony so I did not include it in my shopping but CD might say otherwise.

You probably shouldn't include the reward money in your shopping calculations, as you don't actually have it yet. The RMA helm is just clothing. Maybe worth a small circumstance bonus if you're disguising yourself as a red mantis assassin, but nothing else.

Oh, I don't need the shortsword, so go ahead and sell away. Also, note that my proposal involved purchasing 2 wands, so that would come to 300 gold from you Pygrado, if interested.

Gareth waves at Martin, "Thanks Martin! Try to make it back later tonight, we're hitting the taverns!"

In response to Pygrado's comment, Gareth rolls his eyes. "Right. Here we go again with the whole assassin gig. Remind me, why did you become an assassin again? You don't seem the type to do it for money, nor do you seem the type to do it for pleasure."

K(Local), untrained:1d20 ⇒ 16Do I know a good place to purchase wands in the city?

Deeprun estate is named after the underground river that flows underneath. (I thought it was a good name)

Martin rides in waving to Vasilis pulling up besides his brother, "Hello there! I came back as soon as I could to make sure that the family was alright. It looks like Deeprun did not escape the fighting, but tell me our mother and sister are alright! You at least seemed to have faired well. What happened to the stables and gates?"

While you don't know if they sell wands, the students and faculty of the Silverite Academy of Magic produce most of the city's magic items. You might check there.

Martin:

Cool.

They're fine. Staying with friends after the halflings firebombed the house last night. Listen, I heard from a friend on gate duty that you went off on some secret mission a few days ago. What happened?"

You can see that Martin looks considerably relieved to hear that the rest of the family is alright.

"You should be proud of your older brother Vasilis. I helped save the kingdom the last few days. We went on a scouting mission to try and stop the forces of the GOldencrest Army. We ended up stopping a huge force of dwarves in the tunnels under the city, and I even helped stop a group of assassins from killing the king himself. But it's good to see that the family is safe. I don't have much time to stay, as I need to get back to the keep, but I wanted to make sure everyone is doing alright. Speaking of which, how has the training of the new liter of wolves been? I see that the stable burned down and I know that the dogs sleep in there somtimes. Did any of them make it out unscathed, and what about that special one I had you training last time I was here, what was his name again? Ankou?"

I imagine the blast tube goes to military intelligence, though a bounty would be nice.

Well, Pygrado won't actually have 150 (or 300) to chip in towards wands until we get paid by Vincenzo. My dream cloak calls.

Shopping List (edited):

In that case, I'll just get the cloak. The wonderful, delicious cloak.

Well, you're right that it's not the money, although I do only kill whe I have a contract, or like this in service of something I believe in. So...

It's hard to describe. The first time I saw someone assassinated, it was like "That. That's my calling, right there." There's something about assassination, as a career, that really speaks to me. It's incredibly challenging, mentally and physically, and you have the respect of everyone. You need focus, and it gives you that focus--a straightforward goal with a thousand ways to get there... When you take a life, he pantomimes stabbing you know exactly what you are doing. It's like the world snaps into sharper focus. It's not the same when you're fighting someone, so frantic, so hurried. You can take your time if they're asleep, or drugged, or distracted. You can truly take in the moment.

"They're safe. Luckily, they were in the house proper when everything happened." Vasilis starts walking around to the rear entrance of the house, as the front entrance is no more. "That is impressive. But seriously, Martin, be careful. I don't want to lose my other older brother."

Gareth gives Pygrado a long, hard look. "You're wrong, you know. I don't have respect for assassins. And I don't think I'm the only one. I may be scared of some of them, but I don't respect them. Everyone you kill has a name, you know. A family, a handful of friends, thoughts, dreams. They can be whatever they want to be. But when you kill them, you take all that away from them."

"Those guys in the red helmets. They didn't accept you as their own in the tunnels. I know you're not quite like them." He laughs, "For one, you're not a dickless bastard. But you want to be like them. And that's what troubles me. Anybody can take out a contract and get someone killed. Even people who don't care about Silverkeep, or the king, or anything you stand for. And so you let yourself be taken advantage of by anyone with an enemy and a bag of gold? C'mon Pygrado. Think about yourself, long and hard. You can do other things with your life, there are much better ways to help our city you love."

With that, he adds, "I'm heading to the Silverite Academy of Magic to see about those wands. Any of you are welcome to join me."

So I have almost 2k gold. So far, only Martin has paid me for one of the wands, which cost 1500 total. That means I can front a maximum of 1350 on the wands if people are planning on paying me back after Vincenzo gives us our reward.

For now, I am searching for a Wink Brooch (MIC 148) for 600 gold, the two aforementioned wands, and a scroll of Comprehend Languages, Expeditious Retreat, and Shield for 25 each. I am going to wait until we get our rewards before buying anything else.

Martin frowns at the "not wanting to lose an older brother comment", and then follows his brother into the house, "That's good to hear that the pups survived. I'm famished after my ride, is there anything to eat?"

If you want to we can keep roleplaying this/ if your going to introduce an important plot element, but otherwise I would be fine to skip ahead, and say Martin picks up his Wolf, goes and visits his mother/sister to make sure they are fine. Spends the afternoon in the country with his family, and then rides back into the city just before nightfall.

No major plot developments to be found here, just wanted to give Vasilis a bit of characterization for when he is involved in plot developments...

You have lunch and find Ankou, who takes to you instantly, as you suspected he would. Your family seems to be doing well, and Vasilis assures you that "Don't worry, you can go haring off on whatever flight of fancy takes your interest next. I'll make sure the manor gets repaired."

You are each able to purchase the desired items at their normal prices. As you arrive back at the keep, a young page greets you. "Master Vincenzo wishes to speak with you. Please follow me."

Before leaving Martin turns to Vasilis, "I'm thinking about joining the Mithral guard again. I've been away too long, and I really did save the kings life this time. I think my best chance to catch the killer is from within the organization itself. Staying outside and looking did me no good, and I think the king will reward my request. Be good to your mother Vasilis, and take care of your sister."

Am i back for the meeting with VIncenzo? if not it's fair as I did way more than other peps with the day.

You're right about one thing. In the tunnels I wasn't like them; I was weak. It was the fist time I'd seen one of my order since my induction, and for half a moment I thought they might forswear their sacred contracts. But they acted in accordance with our ways, and died by them.

He pauses, and his tone becomes angry.

Better ways to help the city, huh? You think I failed to do my part, these last days? You want to count the scars, and tell me in which ways my career got in the way, do you?

And as for other things to do with my life, what do you suggest? A carpenter? There's no transcendence in that, just work. A guard, slogging out my rounds each day? This is what I was meant to do.

Gareth's tone adopts more and more anger as the conversation continues, "Hey now. I wasn't saying that anybody failed. I'm just saying, what would you have done if you were the one contracted to kill the king and Vincenzo? Or even just a guard, just like me? You wouldn't blink twice would you? You'd wait till they were asleep, or drunk, or over at their mom's house for dinner and then you'd slit their throats. And then you'd smile and go back to whatever seedy son of a b&$$+ hired you and collect your gold. You think that's helping out the city? Get over yourself."

Gareth takes a deep breath and scoffs, "Seriously, listen to yourself. What gets you off so much on killing?" He says in a mocking tone, "This is what I was meant to do" and scoffs, "You need to go get yourself laid."

We'll do the meeting with Vincenzo via skype this weekend. Seems like a good first test of the format to me.

Pygrado:

As you shop, you notice a red "X" chalked onto a signpost. You recognize the message: there is either a contract or a missive from the Red Mantis Assassins waiting for you in a dead drop in a nearby inn, The Bloated Man. The message or contract will be stuck to the underside of a billiards table in the back room.

Leto:

As you visit the library of the Silverite Academy of Magic, you hear a rather brash woman muttering under her breath, "Stupid halflings, stupid missions, and stupid condescending spellcasters. The ancient empires developed a much more refined manner of magic than these," she sniffs disdainfully, "modern methods." She keeps her nose buried in an old manuscript, and the other patrons avoid her on principle.

Leto pokes his head around the corner. "Um..." Leto looks around sheepishly "What are you referring to? What kind of magic would be more refined?" Leto makes sure to stand a little ways away from the woman, trying to not be anywhere near close.

P.S. Sorry, this weekend would not work for me, you can just run Leto without me. Almost any weekend before would have worked, but Adriana is back home now, and this is her first weekend back and we are just going to kind of have a little bit of a celebration. Sorry that I am going to miss it. It sounds fun and I am looking forward to the time that I can join in.
P.P.S. I have joined the Dark Brotherhood. It is awesome!!!!

"The translation from the old elvish and draconic tongues translates roughly to mean 'wordcasting.' The primary difference between speaking words of power and casting a spell is that casting a spell may be easier for some untrained yokel to learn, but one who has mastered the words of power might perform many more functions with a single effect than another person could achieve with a dozen separate spells." She pauses for breath, and, obviously glad to have an audience, dives headlong into full lecture mode. "Let us examine history for a moment. Seven hundred years ago, Silverkeep was established as a mining and penal colony of the old elven empire. The elves developed the discipline of spellcasting and turned their backs on wordcasting - presumably because it was easier to train their battlemages to competence under a less rigorous program. Their lack of discipline and mastery of the art are likely what led to their downfall and dissolution five hundred years ago. Contrast this with what we know of their main rivals, a hobgoblin empire to the far south. The hobgoblins, brutal and thuggish though they may be, remained true to the art of the word. Their empire stretched back as long as that of the elves, and we still hear rumors of hobgoblin ships trading with the cities on Windrip Isle and in Altin. From all appearances, they have remained true to the old ways and have profited from them. Paradoxical, I know, given their inherent degeneracy, but that just goes to show you the power of the word, now doesn't it?"

At this point, a young blonde woman arrives with an old manuscript and asks the older woman, "Excuse me, but I was told you were the expert on ancient history." The first woman nearly shouts, "Wordcasting is NOT ancient history! It is a more refined method of magical endeavor!" The blonde woman responds, "No, no. I meant, I have a manuscript that I want a second opinion on," she says slowly, proffering an old vellum sheet.

Leto Only - Perception DC 15:

One of the symbols on the manuscript is that same triple-triangle that was branded onto you.

And you need to... to... well, something. He sputters for a bit, then departs angrily.

-----------------

DM:

After making his purchase, and picking up a few other items (see list below) Pygrado goes to the Bloated Man. He waves to the barkeep. Nothing for me, thanks, but I believe you have a message for me. He walks over to the billiards table, apologizing to anyone currently playing there, and ducks under to see what's there.

You cannot buy quieting needles in Silverkeep, at least not without better black market connections than Pygrado has. They have to be specially commissioned from unscrupulous blacksmiths. They are that illegal. The other stuff is fine, though.

Pygrado walks out reading his note. He promptly goes to an academical shop, buys a half-dozen tindertwigs, and, with uncharacteristic discretion goes into a back alley before using one to burn the note.

Carron is a city located on the western end of Windrip Isle, to the south.

As you enter the alley, movement catches your eye. It is over in an instant, but you could have sworn that a shadow-wreathed figure just disappeared from view. Lying on the ground is the corpse of a teenaged human boy. His throat has been cut, but the skin around the wound is blackened and the wound itself has not bled more than a token amount. A piece of red chalk lies by his hand.

Leto carefully steps back a little bit when the second women draws closer. "Is that sheet about the word casting?" Leto becomes intrigued by this idea of another way to perform magic. Truth be told while his quest for information was still to find out where he was from he had found himself fascinated by all the other things he had come across in his travels and was interested to learn more about this potentially useful field.

P.S. Last minute change in plans. I will see you at 6:00pm west coast time.

Since it looks like other people are doing stuff too, I might as well have my share of fun as well!

After picking up his share of magic items from the academy, Gareth walks around by himself around the market district. He feels comfort surrounded by the bustling crowd of passersby, people that would continue to enjoy day to day life in Silverkeep. Having some time to kill and a little extra money in his pockets, he stops by a somewhat elderly jewelry vendor and peruses his wares. In particular, he takes interest in a mundane, yet beautiful emerald amulet. "How much?" he asks the vendor, then adds, "It's a present for my mother. This gem is the color of her eyes."

After purchasing it for its price (we can interact/haggle if you want or just skip ahead and have you name the price I'll pay), Gareth places the amulet in his pack and ventures to Serah Moons Alridge's house and knocks at the front door.

The neighborhood appears to have escaped heavy damage. Some houses are singed or have had windows broken, but nothing serious. Your mother's house is crowded with people, and the door is wide open. It seems like the entire neighborhood is inside chatting and catching up about the recent war.

Leto:

"Not according to my research," the blonde woman says. "It's an old tax record from about fifteen hundred years ago. Geographically, I think it's from where Altin stands today. What I'm curious about is this symbol." She shows you the document. It's written in a jagged, vertically-inclined script, and the symbol is embossed at the head of the document. "I think it's a legal symbol meant to establish the bearer's credentials, but I wanted a second opinion. Do you recognize it?"

"No!!! No!!! Father!!! No!!! You don't have to do this!!! I can change!!!! I can change!!!! I can- AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The voice, his voice, rings back to him from those years ago. Causing him to have some trouble speaking, due to it being about his past, "I-I-I-I t-th-in-nk that I m-m-m-may h-h-have seen it b-b-e-ef-or-fore as a sy-sy-symbol to ward off evil in s-some v-villages. But what kind of credentials or legal authority do you think that it established? And what kind of research do you do?"

"My bosses have me tracking down old manuscripts here. They're trying to better understand old taxation systems. As for the symbol, it probably acted as a symbol of authority legally binding those who saw it to work with the bearer." She laughs slightly and says, "It would be mistaken by peasants as a binding ritual for evil spirits, wouldn't it?"

Pygrado:

You quickly move to another alley, and burn the paper. You catch a fleeting glimpse of glowing red eyes as you dash past a shadow in the first alley, but they are gone a heartbeat later. You spy no one else in the new alley.

As for the other stuff, it is about 400 miles from Silverkeep by ship, or 250-ish as the halfling flies. Beyond that, you need to roll Kn: Geography to learn more.

Since no one else has volunteered, and I don't want to take my inorganic test. Feel free to add anything I left out.

*After returning from their various shopping excursions and side quests, the party met with Vincenzo again, where they were each given 3,000gp for "services above and beyond expectations.
*Inquiring as to what was known about the assassins who attacked the King, they were told that there was likely a connection to the Black Talon (I'm doing this from memory, so this might be wrong) mercenary group, based out of the city of Carron on Windrip Isle. Vincenzo offered to charter a ship for the group to go and investigate. The party agreed, with Martin and Pygrado each expressing personal motivations for wishing to go to Carron.
*After Vincenzo left, the rest of the party interrogated Leto as to why he wanted to be with them. In short, he's a creepy dude and it was hard to get straight truths out of him, but he's like part snake or something and wants to learn more about an ancient race of snake people so he can unlock his power and use it to help people.
*Martin left midway through to have a private audience with the King, and the rest of them went to Pygrado's favorite bar, the Bloated Man, for a few drinks.
*In the morning, we all went shopping and then met to ride cross-country to the port. Martin had a) a Mithril Guard badge and b) a giant wolf.
*Along the way, we fought and subdued a troll, and Leto very nearly stumbled into a nest of about a dozen more.
*Upon reaching the port, we boarded the ship The Swiftsure, and headed to Windrip. We sailed for seven days without incident but on the morning of the eighth got attacked by a black dragon. It proved virtually impervious to our attacks, and swiftly sank the ship despite Pygrado's best efforts at blind underwater carpentry. Jamros managed to save two or three of the horses (after having them fall on him for 10 damage), as well as Martin's armor, while Leto's illusions bought the party enough time to paddle to shore.

As we rejoin our heroes, they are hauling themselves out of the surf somewhere on the northern shore of Windrip, wet and exhausted.

Gareth gives his mom a big hug. "I've been out fighting the good fight. Master Vincenzo commissioned me. Can you believe that?" A sheepish grin of pride appears on his face. "I saved the king! Well, me and my party did. From assassins. Tough ones too, it was crazy!"

You struggle ashore, clinging to the wrecked mast of the Swiftsure. You find yourselves somewhere on the northern shore of Windrip Isle. A semi-tropical landscape of clumped grasses and baobab trees lies inland of you, while to the north the last remnants of the Swiftsure sink beneath the waves. You see no sign of the dragon that sent the ship to her fate. The three remaining mounts (Gareth's, Jamros's, and Martin's) are exhausted but unharmed. No members of the crew appear to have survived.

RETCON: Jamros tries to swim towards you guys as you cling to the mast, but he gets dragged beneath the waves by the current. Your gear bobs to the surface, and washes ashore.

I'll have Jamros rejoin the party when NN-M can post once again. You still have all your gear, but I'd rather not have to babysit his character for an extended period of time.

Gareth:

"Incredible! I'm glad you were able to do your part!" She beams, but looks incredibly tired, "I've managed. I was helping the temple (of Erastil) provide solace to refugees during the attacks. Right now, though, it's just a matter of catching up with the rest of the neighborhood and making sure they all made it through the past few days."

Martin crawls from the wreck examining the shore. Looking around he pats himself off and trys to help the others from the surf.

Well, that was some bad fortune. I don't know whose side we got the wrong of, but it seems that someone out there thinks ill of us. Is everyone alright. While I'm a little drenched, im feeling no worse for the wear.

seeing his gear wash ashore, martin starts to pick it up and looks around for the halfling, Has anyone seen Jamros?

A note on dragons in this world: they are super rare. Like, there are fewer than 30 true dragons in existence, and several of the 10 species are fully extinct. Most people likely consider drakes, wyverns, and the like to be actual dragons. A true dragon sighting is a big deal among the superstitious, as they're so rarely seen. Hence why I said that this was literally a 1/1000 chance encounter.

Gareth smiles and nods. "Well if there's anyone who can comfort the refugees, rally the neighborhood, and do all that with a smile on her face, it's you! And, sheesh, even when you look exhausted, you're still the center of attention in the neighborhood." He laughs. "The temple is lucky to have someone who actually cares like you." It's clear that he harbors some distaste for the temple of Erastil.

He blushes as he reaches into his pack and produces the amulet, wrapped and covered in a piece of cloth. "Oh... mom, I got something for you. I thought you'd might like it." He watches eagerly as Serah opens it and asks excitedly, "Well, what do you think?"

Gareth tries to collect himself, give Petey some comforting rubs, and gather his washed up gear on the shore of the island. He still seems very shocked to have encountered a dragon. When Martin and Pygrado start to realize that Jamros didn't make it ashore, Gareth finally opens his mouth and remarks solemnly, "Not much we can do now but pray for him. And hope that damned beast doesn't follow us anymore." He scans the wreckage and the remaining members of his party, then pulls the Wand of Lesser Vigor out of his backpack. "If we stick together, stay safe, and hope for the best, I think we'll make it out of this one. C'mere Leto, you're hurt."

He activates the wand of Lesser Vigor in attempt to heal Leto's wounds from the mast.
UMD:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11Welp, looks like I'm not using that wand for the next 24 hours....

Leto feels his wounds healing, "Ahhh! Thank you Gareth. That is so much better"

Leto stands up. "G#+ d%&n it! A dragon? A dragon? Why a dragon? There are almost no dragons left! What the f*++ was a dragon doing out here?" Leto looks at the foliage before him. "Well, I guess we may as well get going. Anyone I can ride with?"

"It's beautiful, dear," she says, examining the piece. "I'll wear it proudly. Personally, though, I'm more thankful that you made it back after you disappeared so suddenly."

Leto:

Windrip Isle has always been a warzone between Westwend (which is located on the east edge of the isle, weirdly) and Carron. The two cities have been waging an on-again, off-again war of piracy for centuries. There is no overland travel, but you can't recall why.

What do you guys want to do? Set out? Light a signal fire & wait for a rescue?

So assuming you do want to continue toward Carron, do you want to follow the coast or go inland? I ask because I have different random encounter charts for each option. The two are pretty similar in terms of difficulty.

"Pygrado is right. The Windrip Isle is a warzone between Westwend and Carron. They have been waging a piracy war for centuries. Unfortunately there is no overland travel. I can't quite remember why...But there isn't." Leto looks around. "Let's stay near the coast. I don't remember why there isn't overland travel. But I don't want to find out the hard way. We can always run inland if a ship attacks us."

Gareth nods. "We shouldn't get lost if we follow the coast, right? Besides, Jamros may have washed ashore on a different part of the beach. If we take the coast, maybe we'll run into him or find his body and give it a proper burial."

DM:

Gareth admires the amulet, "It looks beautiful on you!" He then grins sheepishly at the mention of disappearing suddenly, "See, about that... there's something I need to tell you. Vincenzo seemed pretty happy about our work and, well, there are some things that haven't been resolved with the war. What I'm saying is that I might be disappearing again for some time." He looks concerned about how this news will be received.

Serah notices the name of your patron for the first time. "Vincenzo? You mean the little fat man I see at civic functions sometimes? How is he involved in this?" She seems bewildered, but that bewilderment shift swiftly into concern. "I've been afraid that something like this might happen ever since you joined the guards. I won't try to stop you, but know that I worry when you disappear like this. Promise me you'll stay safe?"

You trek west, following the coastline through terrain alternately rocky, grassy, and forested. The coast features few sandy beaches, and many high, rocky bluffs overlooking sheer drops into the straight north of Windrip Isle. Strange bird calls and animal sounds echo out of the grassy and forested regions, and the occasional small snake or lizard can be seen sunning itself on exposed rocks. Birds of prey circle overhead or fly out over the straight before diving for fish. The animals are all fairly small and in many cases are more brightly colored than those around Silverkeep. None are hostile to you, but they do give you a wide berth and are quick to hide if you approach.

In the early evening, you spy the burnt-out remains of a campfire on a nearby beach. No one sits or stands nearby. Indeed, you see no signs of movement or activity at all around the fire pit.

Perception DC 20:

In the distance, you see the faint outline of another wrecked vessel speared upon a rocky outcropping. You also spot footprints between the shipwreck and the fire pit.